SpaceX F9/Dragon : Axiom AX-1 Crewed Flight : 8 April 2022 (15:17 UTC)

[Targeteer]

No return updates from the evening DPC

[Rondaz]

Due to unfavorable weather forecasts, we are still assessing when it's safe to bring the #Ax1 mission home from the @Space_Station. A new #Crew4 launch date will depend on this. Stay tuned for updates from us, @Axiom_Space and @SpaceX.

https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1516838484962643976

[TrevorMonty]

Is this due to sea state in recovery zone.

Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk

[cpushack]

Wonder how the contract handles extra time in orbit required by weather? Since they are charged a per day fee for ISS consumables/resources.

[gemmy0I]

Wonder how the contract handles extra time in orbit required by weather? Since they are charged a per day fee for ISS consumables/resources.

I suppose a smart thing Axiom could do (if NASA would be amenable) would be to have their private crew spend some of their extra time on-orbit assisting the ISS crew with low-end (i.e. low-training-requirement) station maintenance and science work, and barter it with NASA for credit toward some of the supplies and services they'd otherwise be charged for. Depending on what they could negotiate, that might be more than enough to "pay off" the additional NASA resources spent on them being up there a few more days.

Maybe the contracts aren't flexible enough to allow this, but I suspect they might be, since there has already been a fair amount of bartering surrounding this mission (and between Axiom and NASA in general, e.g. with the Vande Hei/Soyuz seat swap). For instance, some of Axiom's experiments are longer-running than the (notionally) 10-day Ax-1 mission, i.e. they're paying NASA for "astronaut hours" to support those experiments when their private crew isn't there. One could imagine the flow of labor going in the other direction as well.

The feasibility of this would be limited by the fact that the Axiom crew isn't as comprehensively trained as a normal ISS Expedition crew, but they've nonetheless clearly gone through a fair amount of "baseline" training on ISS systems and operations just to be able to pull their weight as visitors on the station. Given Axiom's focus on professionalism and an eye to future private module/station operations, I suspect they went somewhat "above and beyond" in that respect compared to pure "tourists".

At the very least, they should be able to help with basic tasks like unloading/reloading Cygnus, something that NASA usually has to "fit in" between the expedition crews' other responsibilities. I'd be surprised if Ax-1's training didn't cover enough of the ISS's cargo-logistical procedures for them to be able to competently assist with that.

Given that NASA has previously expressed interest in buying seats on Axiom missions for NASA astronauts in order to temporarily augment the station's manpower beyond the standard 4 expedition crew, and has increasingly pushed the envelope with overlapping crew rotations for similar "surges" of productivity, I can see them jumping at the chance to put four extra pairs of hands to work in a situation like this.

[Ken the Bin]

New cancel-and-replace NGA notice for splashdown.

The earliest opportunity across all locations is April 24 at 17:40 UTC.

210051Z APR 22
NAVAREA IV 383/22(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
GULF OF MEXICO.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS:
   A. 250835Z TO 250905Z APR, ALTERNATE       
      251700Z TO 251730Z, 261635Z TO 261705Z,
      270745Z TO 270815Z, 271610Z TO 271640Z,
      271615Z TO 271645Z, 280725Z TO 280755Z,
      281550Z TO 281620Z, 290700Z TO 290730Z,
      291525Z TO 291555Z, 300640Z TO 300710Z,
      300645Z TO 300715Z, 301500Z TO 301530Z,
      301505Z TO 301535Z APR,
      010610Z TO 010640Z, 010615Z TO 010645Z
      011440Z TO 011510Z, AND 031350Z TO 031420Z MAY
      IN AREA BOUND BY
      29-02-27N 080-13-48W, 28-51-00N 080-00-46W,
      28-39-32N 080-13-48W, 28-51-00N 080-26-49W.
   B. 250840Z TO 250910Z APR, ALTERNATE
      251700Z TO 251730Z, 261630Z TO 261700Z,
      261635Z TO 261705Z, 270750Z TO 270820Z,
      271610Z TO 271640Z, 280730Z TO 280800Z,
      281545Z TO 281615Z, 290705Z TO 290735Z,
      291525Z TO 291555Z, 300640Z TO 300710Z,
      300645Z TO 300715Z, 301500Z TO 301530Z,
      301505Z TO 301535Z APR,
      010620Z TO 010650Z, 011435Z TO 011505Z,
      AND 031350Z TO 031420Z MAY
      IN AREA BOUND BY
      29-59-27N 080-35-59W, 29-48-00N 080-22-51W,
      29-36-32N 080-35-59W, 29-48-00N 080-49-08W.
   C. 250845Z TO 250915Z APR, ALTERNATE
      251650Z TO 251720Z, 261625Z TO 261655Z,
      261630Z TO 261700Z, 261635Z TO 261705Z,
      270755Z TO 270825Z, 271605Z TO 271635Z,
      280735Z TO 280805Z, 281540Z TO 281610Z,
      290710Z TO 290740Z, 291520Z TO 291550Z,
      300645Z TO 300715Z, 301455Z TO 301525Z,
      301500Z TO 301530Z, 301505Z TO 301535Z APR,
      010620Z TO 010650Z, 010625Z TO 010655Z,
      011430Z TO 011500Z, AND 031350Z TO 031420Z MAY
      IN AREA BOUND BY
      31-06-28N 080-15-00W, 30-55-01N 080-01-40W,
      30-43-30N 080-15-00W, 30-55-01N 080-28-19W.
   D. 241745Z TO 241815Z APR, ALTERNATE
      260845Z TO 260915Z, 260850Z TO 260920Z,
      261655Z TO 261725Z, 261700Z TO 261730Z,
      261705Z TO 261735Z, 270815Z TO 270845Z,
      271635Z TO 271705Z, 280750Z TO 280820Z,
      281610Z TO 281640Z, 281620Z TO 281650Z,
      290735Z TO 290805Z, 290740Z TO 290810Z,
      291550Z TO 291620Z, 291555Z TO 291625Z,
      300705Z TO 300735Z, 300710Z TO 300740Z,
      300715Z TO 300745Z, 301520Z TO 301550Z,
      301525Z TO 301555Z, 301535Z TO 301605Z APR,
      010640Z TO 010710Z, 011500Z TO 011530Z,
      020630Z TO 020700Z, 021440Z TO 021510Z,
      AND 021445Z TO 021515Z MAY
      IN AREA BOUND BY
      29-54-25N 086-10-58W, 29-42-57N 085-57-50W,
      29-31-29N 086-10-58W, 29-42-57N 086-24-07W.
   E. 241750Z TO 241820Z APR, ALTERNATE
      260845Z TO 260915Z, 260850Z TO 260920Z,
      260855Z TO 260925Z, 261700Z TO 261730Z,
      261705Z TO 261735Z, 261710Z TO 261740Z,
      270820Z TO 270850Z, 280755Z TO 280825Z,
      280805Z TO 280835Z, 281615Z TO 281645Z,
      281620Z TO 281650Z, 290735Z TO 290805Z,
      290740Z TO 290810Z, 290745Z TO 290815Z,
      291550Z TO 291620Z, 291555Z TO 291625Z,
      291600Z TO 291630Z, 300710Z TO 300740Z,
      300715Z TO 300745Z, 300720Z TO 300750Z,
      301525Z TO 301555Z, 301535Z TO 301605Z APR,
      010645Z TO 010715Z, 011505Z TO 011535Z,
      020630Z TO 020700Z, 020635Z TO 020705Z,
      021440Z TO 021510Z, 021445Z TO 021515Z, AND 
      021450Z TO 021520Z MAY
      IN AREA BOUND BY
      29-59-27N 087-30-00W, 29-48-00N 087-16-51W,
      29-36-32N 087-30-00W, 29-48-00N 087-43-08W.
   F. 241740Z TO 241810Z APR, ALTERNATE
      250850Z TO 250920Z, 261650Z TO 261720Z,
      261700Z TO 261730Z, 270805Z TO 270835Z,
      271625Z TO 271655Z, 281605Z TO 281635Z,
      290720Z TO 290750Z, 291550Z TO 291620Z,
      300655Z TO 300725Z, 301515Z TO 301545Z,
      301525Z TO 301555Z APR,
      010630Z TO 010700Z, 011455Z TO 011525Z,
      AND 021440Z TO 021510Z MAY
      IN AREA BOUND BY
      29-28-26N 084-12-00W, 29-16-58N 083-58-55W,
      29-05-31N 084-12-00W, 29-16-58N 084-25-04W.
   G. 241740Z TO 241810Z APR, ALTERNATE
      250845Z TO 250915Z, 261655Z TO 261725Z,
      261700Z TO 261730Z, 270755Z TO 270825Z,
      270800Z TO 270830Z, 271630Z TO 271700Z,
      280735Z TO 280805Z, 281610Z TO 281640Z,
      290710Z TO 290740Z, 291550Z TO 291620Z,
      300645Z TO 300715Z, 301520Z TO 301550Z,
      301525Z TO 301555Z APR,
      010625Z TO 010655Z, 011455Z TO 011525Z,
      AND 021440Z TO 021510Z MAY
      IN AREA BOUND BY
      28-17-27N 083-54-00W, 28-06-00N 083-41-02W,
      27-54-32N 083-54-00W, 28-06-00N 084-06-57W.
2. CANCEL NAVAREA IV 378/22.
3. CANCEL THIS MSG 031520Z MAY 22.

[Rondaz]

Current Mood.

https://twitter.com/CommanderMLA/status/1516788340867190785

[Clavin]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2022/04/20/station-crew-awaits-ax-1-departure-and-crew-4-launch/
"The integrated NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX teams have agreed on a plan for the Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) crew to undock from the International Space Station at 8:35 p.m. EDT Saturday, April 23, for a splashdown off the coast of Florida about 1:46 p.m. Sunday, April 24"

[Rondaz]

The @NASA, @Axiom_Space, and @SpaceX teams plan for the #Ax1 crew to undock from the station at 8:35pm ET on Saturday for a splashdown on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/Space_Station/status/1516953575661912064

[Rondaz]

Station Crew Awaits Ax-1 Departure and Crew-4 Launch

Mark Garcia Posted on April 20, 2022

The integrated NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX teams have agreed on a plan for the Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) crew to undock from the International Space Station at 8:35 p.m. EDT Saturday, April 23, for a splashdown off the coast of Florida about 1:46 p.m. Sunday, April 24. The decision was made based on the best weather for splashdown of the first private astronaut mission to visit the International Space Station and the return trajectory required to bring the crew and the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft back to Earth safely.

NASA will provide live coverage of departure activities beginning at 6:15 p.m. Saturday, April 23, with hatch closure targeted for 6:30 p.m. Coverage will resume at 8:15 p.m. for the undocking. Teams will continue to monitor weather at the splashdown sites prior to undocking to ensure conditions are acceptable for a safe recovery of the Ax-1 astronauts and Dragon spacecraft.

NASA and Axiom mission planning prepared for the possibility of additional time on station for the private astronauts, and there are sufficient provisions for all 11 crew members aboard the space station. The Ax-1 crew continues to work through previously planned mission activities. The Ax-1 crew and Dragon spacecraft remain healthy.

The departure of Dragon Endeavour from the space station will clear the docking port for the arrival of Dragon Freedom and NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts. The earliest potential launch opportunity for the Crew-4 mission is 4:15 a.m. Tuesday, April 26, with additional opportunities Wednesday, April 27, and Thursday, April 28. These launch opportunities are undergoing a more detailed program review to ensure they align with integrated operational timelines. The teams want to provide a two-day gap after Ax-1 return for data reviews from splashdown and to prepare for the Crew-4 launch, including the staging of recovery assets.

The Crew-4 astronauts spent last night at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida rehearsing the countdown to their launch inside the SpaceX Dragon Freedom, the company’s newest crew ship. Overnight, Crew-4 Commander Kjell Lindgren, Pilot Robert Hines with Mission Specialists Jessica Watkins and Samantha Cristoforetti, put on their pressure suits and entered their vehicle conducting a successful dry dress rehearsal. The Falcon 9 rocket, with the Freedom perched atop, stands at Launch Complex 39A.

Expedition 67 crewmates Raja Chari and Tom Marshburn, who are also the SpaceX Crew-3 commander and pilot respectively, spent a little time on Wednesday with their upcoming departure activities. The pair, along with Kayla Barron of NASA and Matthias Maurer of ESA, will wait for the arrival of their Crew-4 replacements before returning to Earth a few days later inside the Dragon Endurance vehicle. The four astronauts had a light-duty day on Wednesday scheduling in some housecleaning tasks.

Over in the Russian segment of the station, cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev wrapped up their post-spacewalk activities today stowing their tools and discussing the excursion with specialists on the ground. The duo kicked off a series of spacewalks on April 18 to configure the European robotic arm for operations on the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov started his day with electronics and communications maintenance before studying future spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques in the afternoon.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2022/04/20/station-crew-awaits-ax-1-departure-and-crew-4-launch/

[Rondaz]

They’re coming home. #Ax1, the first private astronaut mission to the @Space_Station, is set to depart Saturday night, April 23, with splashdown off Florida the next day.

Get more details about coverage, timing, and what the new schedule means for #Crew4:

https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1516965850695323652

[Rondaz]

ISS Daily Summary Report – 4/20/2022

Private Astronaut Mission (PAM) Axiom-1 (Ax-1):

Commercial, Payload, and Imagery Activities: The Ax-1 crew continued payload operations including Earth Observation, AstroRad, and Snowcone. Mike LA captured recorded video of a commercial activity.

Ax-1 Undock Preparations: Due to the delayed undocking, the Ax-1 crew removed the Polars from the Ax-1 Dragon and re-installed the emergency equipment. Teams are still assessing weather and phasing for future undock opportunities.

Photocatalyst Filter Check (Ax-1/ISS): The Ax-1 crew checked that no items are blocking the intake fans of the Photocatalyst experiment hardware, which is set up in Node 3. Photocatalyst demonstrates the use of a photocatalyst device to clean the cabin air and remove odor caused by volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The device converts VOCs into carbon dioxide and water. The device and a non-photocatalyst control device will operate for at least four weeks before returning to Earth for analysis of the photocatalyst device’s effectiveness.

Snowcone Troubleshooting (Ax-1): The experiment hardware was powered up and observed by the ground team while various commands were sent. Snowcone Cloud Edge Compute Demonstration (Snowcone Ax-1) demonstrates technology to screen private astronaut images and identify those that may contain sensitive information not for public release. The technology includes reduction of large-scale data and processing of data near the source, known as edge computing, capabilities integral to future space exploration.

[Rondaz]

Seeing our world from the cupola for the first time left me speechless...

Can you help me caption this photo?

https://twitter.com/CommanderMLA/status/1517156397221175299

[Rondaz]

Going to space is an amazing adventure, but more than anything else it offers perspective in the most literal sense. You see the world differently and come home with a new frame of reference- a new way of looking at the world. We are all far more alike than we are different. #NFT

https://twitter.com/CommanderMLA/status/1517175036527923200

[soltasto]

Return "press kit" capture with OCR

[Rondaz]

Station Crew Busy with Research as Managers Work Ax-1, Crew-4 Missions

Mark Garcia Posted on April 21, 2022

The four private astronauts from Axiom Space are now due to depart the International Space Station on Saturday night and return to Earth the next day. Four commercial crew astronauts are also looking ahead to their mission aboard the orbiting lab set to begin after the Axiom Mission 1 (Ax1-) crew departs.

NASA, SpaceX and Axiom Space are planning for the Ax-1 crew to undock from the station inside the Dragon Endeavour crew ship on Saturday at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Ax-1 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria will lead Pilot Larry Connor and Mission Specialists Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe back to Earth inside Endeavour for a splash down at 1:46 p.m. on Sunday off the coast of Florida.

[Targeteer]

April 21, 2022
MEDIA ADVISORY M22-057
NASA Updates Coverage for Axiom Mission 1 Departure from Space Station


NASA will provide live coverage of the undocking and departure of the Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) prior to its return to Earth from the International Space Station.

The four-member private astronaut crew is scheduled to undock from the space station at 8:35 p.m. EDT Saturday, April 23, to begin the journey home, with splashdown off the coast of Florida targeted for about 1:46 p.m. Sunday, April 24. The integrated teams at Axiom Space, NASA, and SpaceX have agreed on the adjusted return plan based on weather for splashdown of the first private astronaut mission to visit the orbital laboratory and the return trajectory required to bring the crew and the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft back to Earth safely.

Teams will monitor weather at the splashdown sites prior to undocking to ensure conditions are acceptable for a safe recovery of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Ax-1 astronauts.

NASA and Axiom Space will begin coverage at 6:15 p.m. Saturday, April 23, with coverage of hatch closure preparations, which will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, the agency’s website, and the company’s website.

Ax-1 Commander Michael López-Alegría, Pilot Larry Connor, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy will complete 16 days in space at the conclusion of their mission. SpaceX Dragon Endeavour, the Ax-1 spacecraft, will return to Earth with more than 200 pounds of science and supplies, including NASA experiments and hardware.

NASA Ax-1 return coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):

Saturday, April 23

6:15 p.m.– Coverage begins for 6:30 p.m. hatch closure

8:15 p.m. – Coverage begins for 8:35 a.m. undocking

NASA coverage will break between the above events, and undocking coverage will end approximately 30 minutes after undocking when joint operations with the Axiom and SpaceX mission teams ends.

Axiom Space will resume coverage of Dragon’s re-entry and splashdown beginning at 12:45 p.m. Sunday, April 24, on the company’s website.

The Ax-1 mission represents both a culmination of NASA’s efforts to foster a commercial market in low-Earth orbit and the beginning of a new era of space exploration that enables more people to fly on more kinds of missions. This partnership is changing the arc of human spaceflight history by opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, more science, and more commercial opportunities.

[Rondaz]

Shannon returned to Tampa Bay earlier to wait for the revised AX-1 splashdown date on April 24th.

https://twitter.com/SpaceOffshore/status/1517228280268603394

[Rondaz]

Four @Axiom_Space astronauts are due to leave the station on Saturday night while the @SpaceX #Crew4 mission preps for launch.

https://twitter.com/Space_Station/status/1517210307143348230

[Conexion Espacial]

Endeavour's undocking will now be two hours earlier, around 22:35 UTC.https://twitter.com/space_station/status/1517260497493671938